If your sales team is still guessing which leads to focus on, you're wasting time. Automated lead scoring sorts the real buyers from the tire-kickers—if you do it right. This guide walks you through setting up automated lead scoring in Attention, with zero fluff and a focus on what actually works. If you're a sales manager, ops lead, or just the person who drew the short straw, this is for you.
Why bother with automated lead scoring?
Let’s be blunt: most sales teams waste too much time chasing leads that’ll never close. Automated lead scoring is about stacking the deck in your favor. Instead of gut instinct or “who’s been emailed last,” you use real data to figure out who’s actually worth your time.
But don’t expect magic. Lead scoring only works if your team trusts it, and if you keep it simple. Over-complicating things is where most folks go wrong.
Step 1: Get clear on what a good lead actually looks like
Before you even log into Attention, hit pause. Automated lead scoring can only help if you know what good looks like. Otherwise, you’re just automating bad decisions.
Ask yourself: - What traits do your best customers share? - What actions do real buyers take before signing? - Which red flags should disqualify someone?
Common criteria to consider: - Company size and industry (are they in your sweet spot?) - Job title or seniority of the contact - Website activity (did they request a demo, or just download an ebook?) - Email engagement (do they reply, or just open and ghost?) - Fit with your product (do you solve their pain, or are they tire-kickers?)
Pro tip: Don't try to score every tiny detail. Focus on 3–5 signals that actually move the needle.
Step 2: Map your data sources
Automated scoring lives and dies by the data you feed it. Garbage in, garbage out. Here’s what you need to check:
- CRM data: Are your contacts and accounts up to date? If your CRM is a mess, clean that up first.
- Marketing automation: Is Attention connected to your email, web forms, and ad platforms?
- Manual notes: Are reps logging important stuff, like “Budget approved” or “Wrong industry”?
What to ignore: Don’t try to sync every single field or every possible data point. You’ll drown in noise. Stick to what will honestly help you sort good leads from bad.
Step 3: Set up basic lead scoring in Attention
Now, finally, it’s time to open Attention and get your hands dirty.
3.1. Access the lead scoring settings
- Log in to your Attention dashboard.
- Find the “Lead Scoring” or “Scoring Rules” section—usually under settings or automation. (If they’ve moved it since this was written, check the help docs. They love to rearrange these things.)
3.2. Choose your scoring model
You’ll usually have two choices: - Rule-based scoring (if/then logic: “+10 points if company size > 500”) - AI or predictive scoring (Attention guesses based on past deals)
Honest take: Start with simple rule-based scoring. Predictive models sound cool, but they need lots of clean historical data. Unless you’ve got that, stick with what you can control.
3.3. Build your scoring rules
Decide which signals matter, and assign points based on importance.
Example: - +10: Requested a demo - +7: Opened three marketing emails - +5: Company in target industry - -10: “Student” in job title - -5: Used a personal email address
Tips: - Use positive scores for strong buying signals. - Use negative scores for obvious dead-ends. - Don’t get too clever or granular. You want scores that make sense at a glance.
3.4. Test your rules with real leads
Before you unleash your new scoring on the whole team, test it.
- Run a few real leads through your scoring rules. Are your best deals getting high scores? Are the tire-kickers getting low or negative scores?
- Ask a couple of reps to sanity-check it. If they don’t trust the scores, they’ll ignore them.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over “perfect” weighting. You’ll tweak it later. Just make sure the obvious good and bad leads land where they should.
Step 4: Set up automation and handoffs
Automation is where the real time-savings kick in, but it’s also where things can get messy if you’re not careful.
4.1. Define what happens at each score threshold
- High-scoring leads: Should they go straight to your best closers? Get a special sequence?
- Medium leads: Maybe nurture with more marketing before a rep jumps in.
- Low-scoring leads: Route to a junior rep, or drop them into a long-term nurture.
Pro tip: Don’t set the bar too high, or you’ll starve your team. Don’t set it too low, or you’ll overwhelm them with junk. Start with broad buckets, then refine.
4.2. Build simple automations
Use Attention’s workflow tools to: - Assign leads to the right reps or teams based on score. - Trigger email sequences or reminders. - Update lead statuses automatically.
Keep it simple at first. Complicated automations break more often than they help. Start manual if you have to.
Step 5: Roll it out to your sales team (without the usual revolt)
Most lead scoring projects die here: reps ignore the scores, or complain they’re wrong. You need buy-in.
- Explain the “why”: Show your team how this helps them waste less time.
- Make it visible: Display lead scores right where reps work—in the CRM, in Attention, wherever they live.
- Ask for feedback: After a week or two, ask what’s working and what isn’t. Be ready to make changes.
What to ignore: Don’t expect instant love. Some reps will always trust their gut more than any score. That’s fine. If the system is good, the proof will be in their results.
Step 6: Review, tweak, and don’t overcomplicate it
Lead scoring isn’t “set and forget.” Your business changes, so your scoring should too.
- Check the results: Are high-scoring leads actually closing? Are you missing good prospects?
- Adjust as needed: Change point values, swap out signals, or kill rules that aren’t helping.
- Avoid feature bloat: Resist the urge to add every new signal or fancy AI feature. More isn’t always better.
Pro tip: Set a reminder to review your scoring every quarter. Otherwise, it’ll drift off-course.
Honest pitfalls and what to skip
A few warnings from someone who’s been around the block:
- Don’t copy generic scoring templates. They’re usually too broad to help.
- Don’t let marketing own it alone. Sales needs to trust (and help build) the system.
- Don’t chase every new “AI-powered” lead scoring trend. Unless you have tons of clean data, it’s more hype than help.
Keep it simple, and iterate
Automated lead scoring in Attention can help your team focus on what matters—but only if you keep it grounded. Start with what you know works, get feedback, and make small tweaks. Don’t try to build the perfect system on day one. The goal isn’t to impress anyone with fancy rules; it’s to help your team close more deals with less wasted effort. Good luck, and remember: simpler is usually better.